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Bow balast M384

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aistqm

Robert C. Lindenberger
This is to answer an earlier question regarding bow balast in
M383-4's. I drill a hole into the are under the v-berth of my
M384 which I had originally believe to be empty. It is not. I
now believe that it has balast just like the M382's. The hole
was 1/8 inch diameter and I probed around in the area with a
coat hanger. I do not plan on upgrading my ground tackle for a
few years and did not want to drill a larger hole at this time.
 
If you have the added weight, lead ingots, they are in a compartment in the veeberth area aft of the chain locker and can be seen by removing screws and lifting of a plywd. access door and seeing resin poured over numerous lead ingots. I would only go though the trouble of removing it if you need to add additional weight to the bow; that is all chain, extra anchors, windlass, etc.
 
<div>I just removed the bow ballast by chipping away at the resin with hammer and screw driver (and safety glasses!). Total weight was 300 lbs (60 ingots). It took me about 4 hours and can be somewhat gratifying if you feel a need to vent anger. The waterline at the bow came up about two inches. Since the CG moved aft as a result, the stern sank in a bit (about an inch max). I have not had a chance to sail her since, to see the effect on helm, but I was recently (before the removal of the ingots) sailing upwind in 8-10 ft seas and the boat seemed to be slow to rise and pitched excessively. I have two CQRs and 50 ft of chain on the bow, and keep all sails and scuba tank and tools up there, as well as 6 golfcart batteries, so there is no need for the ballast. I expect the boat to handle better now. I am tempted to move the waterline to reflect the new trim, because she looks awkward with all that bottom paint exposed forward.Incidentally, I decided to install a battery box for the house batteries forward because it was the only spot on the centerline where I had the space to hold the six batteries. It works well. I cut a large access panel in the center of the "V" and glassed up the box. I also used mongo wires (00 gauge) to run aft with minimal loss. Total amp-hours is 360. Note that someone else in the bulletin board talked about having installed six golfcart batteries for a total of 680 amp-hours. This is probably the 6 volt capacity. For 12V you must divide the batteries' rating by 2 (or, more precisely, consider the batteries in pairs). Nevertheless, because of the smaller form-factor of the 6V battery, you have more options in installation and will therefore end up with a slightly more efficient use of space (amp-hours/square-inch of footprint) than going with 4Ds or 8Ds. I could only fit 2 4Ds in that space (total 220 amp-hours) before. Finally, Sam's wholesale sells the golfcart batteries for $50 which is the best amp-hours/dollar rate going.
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Great info on the Bow ballast & battery box. I haven't checked yet to see if my 384 has the extra ballast. In requard to the batteries you certainly can't beat the cost per amp/hr and space is always a factor on a boat. The only caution I would forward to anyone concidering an upgrade is that a factor to consider is life expectancy of the batteries. A low cost deep cycle battery may cycle only a few hundred times while a good quality one re:Trojan will have 700 to 1000 cycles saving you money in the long run. I'm not sure just where the golf cart batteries fall in line but it's something to consider.
 
I use 4 golf-cart batteries - approx. 440 ah total. Picked them up from the Trojan distributor for $68.15 each about a year ago. Located the Trojan representative (distributor) in the yellow pages under "Batteries". They were listed as "Trojan". You might give that approach a try.

 
I posted the note about the golf cart batteries. You are correct in your amp hour calculations; however, the golf cart batteries I installed are six volt and rated at 235 amp hours per battery. Two of these batteries wired in series are approximately the same as a 8D which is rated at 12 volt and about 220 amp hours.
 
I recently installed 4 Trojan 6 volt golf cart batteries on a separate switch to support the "house" and the new inverter I installed. The batteries were installed under the berth by the companionway by making a glassed-in box. I now have six batteries (2 engine) in the same space. This arrangement has worked well and the boat does not list to starboard as I had feared. On a recent outing we ran the inverter for 4 days (VCR, Tele, fans, etc.) and not a dent - nice batteries.

 
Cary, I just finished making a battery box to hold 4- 6 volt batteries and I will have to raise the quarter berth about 2 1/2 inches to handle the taller batteries. Did you have to do this also, or do you have some other system of battery placement to get around it ?
 
I have added 4 260 amp 6 volt batteries to my quarter berth and only had to raise the floor 5/8 to 3/4 inch. This is mainly to ventilate the space.
 

No, I didn't raise the quarter berth at all -- the batteries barely fit I must admit! However, ventilation was a concern. II may add another "hole" somewhere to aid ventilation. I have 4 of the big Trojan 6 volts and 2 group 24 12 volts all under this quarter berth.
 
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